FRUSTRATED Knights coach Wayne Bennett is still trying to settle on a psychological profile of his team after watching them fumble and stumble to a 32-0 loss to perennial powerhouse Manly at Brookvale Oval on Sunday night. Just six days after crushing Wests Tigers 42-10 at Hunter Stadium, the Knights crashed back to earth, submitting to a Sea Eagles side that monstered and man-handled them from the opening whistle to the final siren. Winger Jorge Taufua crossed for a hat-trick of tries and internationals Jamie Lyon, Anthony Watmough and Brett Stewart scored one each as Manly registered their 12th win from 14 games against Newcastle at Brookvale to reclaim the Malcolm Reilly Challenge Trophy. ‘‘Your biggest fear coaching the Knights is which team gets off the bus, Bennett said.  ‘‘Whatever mistake we could make out there tonight, we found a way to make it. ‘‘They simply wanted it more than we did, and the team that played last week didn’t come here tonight.’’ Centre Dane Gagai (ankle) and prop Willie Mason (calf) were replaced in the opening 20 minutes and will have scans today to determine the extent of their injuries. The early diagnosis for Gagai was torn ankle ligaments and at least four weeks out.  Knights medical staff were unsure of the exact nature of Mason’s injury. Hooker Travis Waddell was a late withdrawal for the Knights after suffering a hamstring injury at training on Saturday.  That  gave veteran Matt Hilder an ahead-of-schedule return from a broken thumb. Bench forward Neville Costigan needed stitches in a head cut but is expected to be available for the next game against North Queensland at Hunter Stadium next Monday night. ‘‘We weren’t on our game from the kick-off with those guys on the field,’’ Bennett said. ‘‘It doesn’t help the situation on the day, but somewhere in the day we had to help ourselves. ‘‘Why  we didn’t score was we didn’t earn the right to score.’’ Bennett described Manly as one of the benchmark clubs since the middle of the past decade and said the Knights were aspiring to achieve the same level of consistency. ‘‘It’s been the challenge I’ve identified since I first arrived here. First I had to get them consistent at training, and we’re starting to win that battle,’’ he said. ‘‘Now we’ve got to start to be consistent week after week. They’ve been a top club for five or six years now. They come with that reputation and they know how to get the job done, and we’re still trying to learn how to get the job done ...  ‘‘They go out there and show that today, and we go out looking over our shoulder wondering if the guy that played with me last week will be as committed as he was today.’’ Bennett said the Knights would not dwell on yesterday’s shut-out, just as they had not spent too long celebrating their lopsided victory over the Tigers. ‘‘You’ve got to kiss it off and know we’re playing at home next week, and that’s a huge advantage of course,’’ he said.  ‘‘We’re doing a lot of things right so we’ve just got to hold our nerve right now and not over-react and not throw the baby out with the bathwater.  ‘‘It’s only round two. I didn’t get carried away last week in round one and I’m not at the other end of the scale in round two.’’ From the time Gagai suffered an ankle injury and lost the ball when tackled in the fifth minute, little went right for the Knights, and Manly led 10-0 at the break after tries by Taufua and Lyon in the sixth and 15th minutes. Gagai hobbled from the field after Lyon’s try, Mason limped off with a calf injury five minutes later, then Mason’s replacement, Costigan, followed one minute later to have stitches inserted into a head cut. The Sea Eagles continued to assert their authority with their defence, as former Knight Richie Fa’aoso, Kieran Foran and Steve Matai rushed out of the line to nail Hilder, Robbie Rochow and Jarrod Mullen with bone-rattling tackles.  Matai was helped from the field just 30 seconds before half-time suffering a jarred neck and pins and needles down his side after colliding with teammate Justin Horo trying to tackle Newcastle’s Beau Scott. Manly extended their lead to 14-0 in the 44th minute when Watmough picked up  Joe Galuvao’s offload from a standing start and rumbled 60 metres, keeping Boyd at bay, to score an opportunist’s try. Taufua scored his second and third tries in the 60th and 79th minutes, and Stewart reached around Knights lock Jeremy Smith to ground Lyon’s grubber kick in the 71st. Manly coach Geoff Toovey said he was happy with the consistency his side had shown over the first two rounds. ‘‘Our players are playing well. There’s still room for improvement,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s a happy team at the moment and a happy club and we are trying to maintain that.’’  ● The Knights opened their National Youth Cup account with a 26-14 victory over the Sea Eagles in the curtain-raiser.